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7 Things to Know about Nancy Pelosi

1) She has led the House Democrats for 10 years and was the first woman elected Speaker of the House. From her website:

From 2007-2011, Pelosi served as Speaker of the House, the first woman to do so in American history. She first made history in November 2002 when House Democrats elected her the first woman to lead a major political party in Congress. Pelosi has led House Democrats for a decade and previously served as House Democratic Whip.

It is shortly after midday, and she has already wolfed down enough chocolate to keep a narcoleptic on edge. After lunch she polished off two desserts, chocolate mousse and chocolate-covered strawberries. On the way to the airport she put away a fistful of chocolate Kisses. OK, there might have been a few Kisses before lunch.

On the plane, she reminisces about a pint of her favorite ice cream (Ben &Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk) that she scarfed down on a New Hampshire roadside during one campaign. But what's really on her mind is what kind of chocolate might be available when she lands in Hartford.

"Because when I get off the plane, I am going to need some chocolate," Pelosi declares. "I crave chocolate." ...

"I am very discriminating about my chocolate," explains Pelosi. "I have very high standards."

3) Politics runs in her family, both her Dad and brother were the mayor of Baltimore. From a 2006 Washington Post profile:

In that brick rowhouse on the corner of Albemarle and Fawn streets, politics was a family business that became a local dynasty. Big Tommy [Pelosi's dad] served 22 consecutive terms in public office, from state delegate to city councilman to U.S. congressman to Baltimore mayor, followed by a low-level appointment from President John F. Kennedy to something called the Federal Renegotiation Board.

One of Pelosi's five brothers, Thomas J. D'Alesandro III, Young Tommy, served on the Baltimore City Council and became the city's mayor as well.

4) She loves being a mother and has 5 children (four daughters and a son). From the Los Angeles Times:

Nancy Pelosi juggled two roles--mom and rabid Democrat--during her first 15 or so years in San Francisco. If forced to pick between the two, however, there is little doubt which she would have chosen. As her four daughters and a son grew older, she would say she wished she could take them out in the rain, shrink them and start over.

She was the doting mother who carpooled in her red Jeep Wagoneer, drove on class field trips to the Old Mint, brought cupcakes to school and hand-stitched her children's Halloween costumes, including an elaborate angel outfit with a pink dress and silver wings that her youngest daughter, 32-year-old Alexandra, still has.

Pelosi, 72, is a prodigious fundraiser and a skillful tactician with a knack for counting votes and herding querulous members into line. She is also a steely negotiator, as she is the first to remind people. “Anybody who’s ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me,” she told TIME in 2006.

6) She loves the New York Times crossword puzzle and is "addicted" to reading the paper. She told The Atlantic last year:

...my main, absolute must-do — I stayed up last night, started at one o’clock, ended at two o’clock to do it — The New York Times crossword puzzle. I couldn’t do it on Sunday because I was busy all day with events for the Democrats. That was like, "I really should go to sleep but I have to do this puzzle right now." So that is an absolute must, to get that puzzle and get that done. That’s my real relaxation.